Who I am, Who I Was
by Doomsday Salad
Summary: Bowser mulls over some things that Mario had said to him; and it makes him realize quite a bit about himself.


**No Longer Who I Am.. Who I Was**

Another dull day in the Darklands; the lands weren't all that dark that day, though, it seemed. The air was dry, the sun was baking; even the bones that littered the lands seemed to sweat. A heat wave had hit all the kingdoms, but it hit the Darklands hard. Just about everyone in the Darklands seemed to have shut themselves in that day, not wanting to risk burning up as quick as the unfortunate soldiers who happened to get on King Bowser's bad side that day; and that was almost everyday. Speaking of the king, he was sitting on the edge of a cliff, staring at a area of the nearly depleted sea; his citizens shall call him crazy if they found out, but they would never find out. Plus, the king wasn't bothered by the heat as much as others were. The sea wasn't able to say the same though; the heat was too much for the poor waters, depleting almost all of it. This allowed the sharp and jagged rocks, usually hidden in the sea, to show themselves in their glory; the rocks seemed to gleam, as a sword just before it impales its enemies.

King Bowser sighed deeply, feeling as dull as the day was, and as depleted as the sea. It was another day the Mario Brothers, the two humans the King wished that burned in the deepest parts of Hell, had defeated him and stolen the beautiful Princess Peach once more. This fact was not the thing that seemed to have sobered him, however. Something Mario had told him after the battle was- and if he wasn't such a stubborn Dragon-Koopa, he might have admitted it stung, and that it destroyed his ego quite a bit. He couldn't get those words out of his head; he couldn't get that damned plumber's look out of his head. He couldn't get the bitter taste of defeat out of his mouth, remembering the events from earlier.

_Bowser laid on the ground, defeated once more. He spit out a little bit of blood, and he growled softly as Mario approached his defeated form, wearing a triumphant sneer; one that seemed to be permanently fixed onto the plumber's face. What King Bowser would give to finally be able to knock that sneer off of the damned plumber's face. Mario started to speak,'Give up Bowser. Peach will NEVER love you. You are too evil for her; too cruel. Not to mention a sight that would make a blind man scream.'Mario sneered, finally snapping; finally done with the Dragon-Koopa's antics,'If you were able to get Peach to like you, then the world would be falling apart! I heard that even your own CHILDREN dislike you. They're sick of you leaving them. They hate you even, from what I heard. You should just stop Bowser. You're a FAILURE.'_

The first part had stung, but the second part... It was like someone had stabbed him in the heart, and punched him in the gut.'My own children hate me... I always thought I did good as a father...'Bowser thought sadly, the pain feeling fresh.'I can't change what I've done, but I can stop what I am doing. I can't stay anymore... I need to leave. Leave and never come back. I've failed at everything. Failed at being a king. Failed at being a villain. Failed at trying to get Peach to like me... Failed my own children... I'm just a failure, like Mario said.'Every thought and failure he had, he slowly rose. He had a look of steely determination on his face, his eyes as cold as stone.'I could conjure up a potion to make myself like one of those Lizard things... Maybe even a regular Koopa... No. I need to leave.'

He slowly walked away, but not towards home; not towards the place he has always failed, the place he was born in, the place it all started. He knew if he went back, he wouldn't be able to do what he was going to do. He let a stray tear roll down his snout, resisting the urge to cry towards the Heavens.'I'm sorry, my children... My kingdom... Myself... I've failed... Failed everything and everyone...

'I can no longer be Bowser. I can no longer be the King of the Darklands... No longer be a Dragon-Koopa... I can't be a failure anymore... I can't be who I am... Who I _was_...'

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**A/N:** _I wanted to try something new for once. I've had this idea stuck in my head for so long, it was starting to annoy me. I'll leave this a one-shot for now, unless people request that I continue to write it._

_So, Read and Review. Leave a Favorite if you want._

_Edit: I fixed some grammar, added some words._


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